State Department prioritizes funding for Jerusalem embassy

In budget proposal for 2019, State Department prioritizes funding for facility for embassy in Jerusalem.

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Elad Benari, 13/02/18 06:14

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The U.S. State Department is prioritizing funding for a facility for the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, according to its Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget proposal, which was published on Monday.

In addition, the proposal includes a request to continue the military funding for Israel.

Under a clause entitled “Protecting U.S. Overseas Personnel and Facilities”, the proposal says the Trump administration is “prioritizing funding for a U.S. Embassy facility in Jerusalem which will begin once design and construction plans are finalized.”

Another close entitled “Upholding Commitments to Our Allies” reads: “Supporting the recent 10-year Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Israel, this request provides $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing for Israel.”

Moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was a central campaign promise of President Donald Trump’s. In December, he announced that he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and ordered the State Department to begin preparations for the embassy move.

Last month, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told reporters that he expects the U.S. embassy to move to Jerusalem within the coming year.